COME HELL AND HAIKU

The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle explains himself, 17 syllables at a time.

Tags:

John Darnielle

John Darnielle is currently recognized by the music press as one of the premier poetic songwriters in modern music. But the 38-year-old songwriter has been engaging a devout audience with his lyrical wit and distinctive voice since he started recording under the name the Mountain Goats back in 1991. His first recordings-on cassette!-consist mainly of his clear voice, a guitar and the hiss of a boom box. It wasn't until 2002, when Darnielle released Tallahassee that the musician made the full jump from bedroom recording to a studio. Still, his music remains refreshingly simple and captivating.

In the past, Darnielle narrated his songs from the point of view of various characters-teenagers, murderers, alcoholics or tragedy victims-but his latest release, The Sunset Tree, tells more personal stories. When his abusive stepfather died in December 2003, Darnielle found himself turning inward, creating songs set in his California childhood, peppered with stinging details of squalor and torment. On an album filled with so much domestic violence, two songs-"This Year" and "Dance Music"-stand out for their hopeful messages.

The album has earned attention this spring from publications like The New Yorker and The New York Times, years after Darnielle was already hailed as a genius by fanzine authors. And in contrast to the days when Darnielle mailed out his releases individually, now he's hit the semi-big time, realeasing his last three albums on the super-sophisticated London label 4AD.

In addition to his songwriting, Darnielle also publishes poetry, comments on the music industry on his blog, lastplanetojakarta.com, and contributes to Decibel magazine and the Pitchfork website. In a nod to that literary bent, WW decided to discuss his new album through haiku, the 17-syllable poetry form. Kevin Sampsell-a co-founder of Portland's Haiku Inferno performance group-wrote haiku questions based on selected songs from the new album, and Darnielle responded (almost) in kind via email.

Here's what happened:

"you or your memory"

In the lovely opener, Darnielle's confessional and sometimes breathy vocals float above the feather-brushed drums, strummy guitar and somber piano set in a "bargain-priced room in La Sienega." The way he says "you" made me think he was in love. I guess I was wrong.

Q. WW:

Romance memoriesor suicide watch? Is therehope in sad motels?

A. Darnelle:

Romance? What romance?It's a south-central motel,and a mirror, and stray thoughts.

"broom people"

Set to another heart-tugging piano score, this track finds Darnielle surrounded by "friends who don't have a clue" and "well-meaning teachers." The singer seems sad until he proclaims, "Down in your arms I am a wild creature."

Q. Oppressive home life...good reasons to freeze to death...Where were all your friends?

A. Close by at all times!Just the fact of having friendscan't slow the deathwish.

"this year"

By track three, Darnielle delivers a more uplifting mood. Maybe "the taste of scotch rich on my tongue" helped. Triumphant hand claps and the clear-as-day declaration of "I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me" shine over the darker elements of the story.

Q. Escaping in drinksHand claps and affirmationsSinging to survive?

A. Singing years later:Couldn't sing at all back then.Old tapes back me up.

"dilaudid"

Darnielle pleads for his lover to "stay sweet," but his vision seems clouded by drugs. Maybe it's the urgent sound of the cello going solo that has him alarmed.

The piano on this song sounds like a peppy riff that Schroeder may have played on a Peanuts cartoon. And that's not a bad thing. I picture Darnielle with headphones on, waiting for his mom and stepdad to stop yelling. He sings, "This is what the volume knob's for."

Q. Dodging stepdad's angstsheltered in pop song discoWaiting for how long?